We “desire to be better tomorrow than today,” and reading can be a very helpful step in self-improvement. Reading fiction makes us happier and more creative people, and reading makes us better writers.

This year we also coupled International Literacy Day with the opportunity to live by our value of “Act Beyond Yourself.” This is the newest addition to the Buffer values and one the whole team is excited to be aspiring to live by!

In the spirit of acting beyond ourselves and giving back, this year we encouraged our team and community members from around the world to participate in International Literacy Day by donating used books and hopefully making a positive impact on their local communities.

Getting the Buffer Team Involved in International Literacy Day

We prompted our team and community to get involved with in International Literacy Day by donating used books to charity, local schools, friends, strangers, libraries, or anywhere else where an extra book might make a difference.

Through the efforts of the Buffer team and community, we were able to donate a total of 189 books! 🎉

We were so happy with the opportunity for our teammates and community to have the chance to give back, especially since we’re all avid readers ourselves and know the joy in having a fresh book to read.

It’s so neat to compare this list to a few past years at Buffer! I notice a slow evolution towards reading a bit more fiction across the team, as well as a new focus on diversity and inclusion this year with Ellen Pao’s book and Emily Chang’s Brotopia (both great reads).

I’ve said it before, but you guys are amazing, both in the way you run your business and how you share it with the world! The focus on reading as a learning tool for growing your company and yourselves is profoundly wise.

I’m sorry for the gap in commenting, I had this post open when you first published, but it got shuffled and then lost. As luck would have it, though, now I’m in a better position to contribute, especially in light of Courtney’s mention of the diversity and inclusion theme. Both of my book suggestions came out late in 2018, so you may want to pass them on for this year: Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder, by Chip Conley (built around his role at Airbnb), and How to Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations, by Marc Freedman (founder and CEO of Encore.org).

It probably sounds a bit like harping, but the Age chart on your diversity dashboard still looks weird in assuming nobody works past age 54! That’s about when the Airbnb founders brought Conley in to help them grow (in all that word’s nuances).

The second upside of my delay is that I went first to the post on your overall 2018 review and saw the note that you’ve expanded beyond Kindle books to include print and audio in your benefits. Way to go!

That prompted me to wonder if either of you would be willing to serve as a reader for the book I’m getting ready for publication, working title: Read ‘Em & Reap: 6 Science-Backed Ways Reading Puts You on the Road to Achieving More and Living Longer. I’ve included a chapter exploring the latest research on how digital vs. print formats affect our brains and our learning processes.

I’d love to have your suggestions, corrections, and improvements before it goes to press. Can you help?

hellopetro

I have been loving The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness by Andy Puddicombe. It’s worth checking out!

BROO

the holy Quran it is for whole the people and it is the best in my opinin.